There has been a lot of talk lately about stepping off the concrete square and letting God move etc. The result has been several people speaking about what God has shown them. It is a good thing to allow the Spirit to speak to the church and to be open to these kinds of words. What I want to speak about today is discernment when it comes to prophecy and setting out some biblical parameters for being a church who moves in the Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5: 19-22 “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (NIV)
Here is a passage which recognises several of the dangers inherent in having a church with actual people in it. There is no perfect church out there somewhere in which the people always do what is right, always know the will of God, always love one another with sincere love, and always have balanced, well thought out doctrine. Paul understood that churches have real people in them and that the existence of real people in churches means that we need to take some precautions.
Firstly, he exhorts “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.” If we were to quench the Spirit in the church this would certainly fix the problem of false prophecy. But prophecy, hearing from the Spirit, is essential to the life of the church so that should not be done. However, the minute we allow prophecy in church we run some real risks. Because Paul was a realist he gave instructions so that prophecy could happen in church without simply saying ‘anything goes’. He says “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” This suggests that not every word of prophecy is actually from the Spirit or at least that sometimes we get our ‘own stuff’ mixed up with what the Spirit is saying. For this reason we must sift through what is said and only hold on the good while rejecting the evil.
This passage does not offer any suggestions as to how to do that sifting of prophecy. Therefore, I have chosen to look today at a more extended passage on prophets in 1 John 4. In his first epistle John offers several tests to enable Christians to test prophets. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” For my purposes I will apply these to testing prophecy.
Test 1:
2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
Jesus did not come merely to give us some sayings like the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord’s Prayer. He could have posted us a letter for that. No he came into the world as a flesh and blood human being who lived a human life and experienced all the things which human beings experience: birth, childhood, hunger, thirst, cold, heat, weariness, loneliness, friendship, betrayal, and finally ignoble death. Hebrews 2:17-18 “Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” One way the Spirit of Christ is able to convey this help to us in prophecy.
This flesh and blood Jesus is not a construct of the human mind. We cannot simply make Jesus into whatever we want to in order to suit the moment. It is important then to ask whether we have constructed some kind of false Jesus. The Spirit will not convey a picture of an unreal Jesus because a false Jesus cannot help us, comfort us, or strengthen us. If what is said is not consistent with a fully human Jesus then this is false prophecy.
Test 2:
5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
In this test the one who speaks the truth listens to “us”. Who is this that John is revering to? There are two sets of people that we must listen to. The first is the apostles of Christ and their testimony is recorded in the Bible. This is a way of saying that any prophecy must conform to what the Bible says. God is not divided; the Holy Spirit will not say something which contradicts what God has said in his word. I have spoken about this before so what I will stress right now is the need to be familiar with the Word of God in the Bible, because ignorance of what God has already said leaves us open to being led astray by false prophecy. Personal Bible reading and good teaching which proclaims the “whole council of God” is important and cannot be overstressed.
The second set of people that John is referring to is the church. Prophets need to listen to the church just as much as the church needs to listen to prophets. We are not individuals who can say our own thing without reference to one another. We are the body of Christ and individually members of that body (1 Cor 1:27). We need to submit to one another (Eph 5:21) and honour one another (Rom 12:10). In effect we must honour one another by speaking the truth in love (Eph 4:15) including correcting what is an incorrect understanding of God given in a prophecy. Both giving and receiving correction is difficult and it must be done in love for the sake of the other. This brings me to the third test.
Test 3:
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Love is the third test. God is love, so no matter what amazing and profound prophecy is declared it is not valid if it is not given in love. Arrogance has no place in the prophetic word. God has sent his Son as a sacrifice for our sakes. In order to be an instrument of God to the church we must die to our own will and pride and submit ourselves to the love of God. Then we can be a channel of that love to others. In addition, as I said above, this love is necessary in correcting what is false. Love is also needed in receiving what is said by another. Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet 4:8). Prophecy will not always be given in a way which is pleasing. Sometimes it is given in a way which offends our sensibilities or is awkward or clumsy. Love will overlook these things. The important thing is to consider the other when speaking prophecy and when receiving prophecy.
Test 4:
12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
Here I am going to go to another passage in RSV Philippians 1:9-11 “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
In verse 10 the RSV uses the word approve but the Greek word is the same as the word test in 1 John ‘test the spirits’. The way to approve or test what is good is to have love which abounds in knowledge and discernment. This is I believe part of God’s love being made complete in us. This love is not some airy fairy feeling but something powerful, able to understand what is good and bring us to a place of holiness and righteousness. As Paul prays for this kind of love for the Philippians it is not something which is automatic in the Christian life. We must seek it and pray for it because with such love we will know the Spirit’s voice clearly.
Test 5
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
What does a prophecy testify about? That Jesus is the saviour of the world. If it is a true prophecy then it will be centred on Jesus: his character, his glory, and what he has done for his people. Rev 19:10 “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. This seems an obvious thing to say but it is one which needs to be repeated. When the focus of the church is on something or someone other than Jesus then we know that we are no longer in the will of God and we are ineffective in the kingdom of God.
Jesus is the saviour of the world. His influence is not merely over the church and certainly not just over this group of people. Often then we would expect that prophecy would apply to a wider sphere than just the people who are here on Sunday morning. There are several spheres which we deal with: people who are regularly fellowshipping here, those who fellowship occasionally, family members, friends, and work colleagues, then people we come in contact elsewhere such as the petrol station attendant. The word of God can be related to some or all of these.
Test 6:
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
There is no condemnation in Christ (Rom 8:1) and a prophetic word should be encouraging (1 Corinthians 14:3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.). A word which condemns is not from the Holy Spirit. There is a difference between condemnation and exhortation: condemnation puts a burden on the people of God to do what they cannot rightly do but exhortation encourages them to live according to God’s word. Exhortation can certainly challenge the ideas which we hold dear and challenge the way in which we act but it should not bring fear of punishment. “We have confidence on the day of judgement” while we are ‘in Christ’ because in him we have been judged and given God’s favourable verdict. I have the righteousness of Christ (Phil 3:9). Therefore nothing the Spirit speaks will suggest that God is angry with us or going to abandon us.
Test 7
Last of all I suggest another test. This is not a test of the words spoken but of the character of the prophet. 2 Corinthians 8:22 “And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found eager in many matters, but who is now more eager than ever because of his great confidence in you.” This speaks of a brother who wants to serve in the church but I believe we can apply a similar principle to prophets. Time is a good test of a prophet’s character; over time the kind of person you are becomes evident to others. If a person is not of godly character then we need to take care to scrutinize his or her words very carefully. I am hesitant to believe a word spoken by someone who has not demonstrated over time his or her willingness to listen to God and to obey God’s commands.
Conclusion
As a church who is seeking to hear from God and follow what he wants for us I suggest that we ask several questions of any prophecy which is spoken.
- Is it presenting a real, human Jesus?
- Is this word consistent with what the Bible says?
- Is the speaker willing to listen to the church regarding what he or she has to say?
- Is this presented in love rather than out of a desire to impress?
- Have we prayed for love in knowledge and discernment?
- Is the word centred on Jesus?
- Does what is said apply beyond the narrow confines of these four walls?
- Is this encouraging rather than condemning?
- And finally, is the speaker living a life which demonstrates God’s working in him or her to produce godliness?